Manga
by Boshoku
Summary: Shunsui’s goodbyes are unorthodox, but rarely permanent. :Slightly AU: :Spoilers for Chapters -108 and up: :Turn Back the Pendulum Arc:


**Disclaimer: **No, I do not own Bleach. Is this honestly so necessary? I mean, it's sort of obvious and all...

**Warnings: SPOILERS for the negative chapters lately, also known as ****"Turn Back the Pendulum"; as well as somewhat AU, and will probably only be more so as the manga continues. There's also my inexperience in writing Bleach, so possible OOC-ness is ahead.**

**A/N: **I honestly don't know how this popped up. I really like Lisa as a character, and when she appeared in the latest chapters as Shunsui's former lieutenant, it was a nice insight to her character as well. This is my one-shot take on their escape from Soul Society to become the Vizard.

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**Manga**

**By: Boshoku**

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_Turn Back the Pendulum – Departure_

Even as she hurried through the corridors of Seireitei, Yadomaru Lisa, Lieutenant of the 8th Division, was silent.

Really, there shouldn't have been any need to be; few would have questioned her authority on what seemed to be a midnight stroll. This was her place in the Gotei 13.

But by this time tomorrow, she would be a fugitive on the run from these very walls that she had patrolled.

But before she left, she needed to retrieve some things.

_"Didn' ya hear me? I said, take anythin' that says you were here."_

_"Who died and made you leader?! You fucking dumbass shit, Shinji – "_

_"Honestly, act your age for once, Hiyori, you're making things more difficult."_

_"I'm not yours to push around, Love!"_

_"Like I said, it's gonna be helluva blast trying to just escape from here. Make it seem like we up an' vanished."_

Quietly, she slid open the door to the 8th Division's office, before quietly stepping in and shutting the door. The only light came from the waning moon shining through the window, as she stepped towards the bookshelf. She stayed close to the shadows, before tipping a book from the shelf into her hands. The object safe in her grasp, she turned –

And black strands of hair floated into the air as she jerked back, safely out of the way before pulling her zanpakuto from its sheath with a _shing_.

Her hair, previously parted smoothly to the left side of her face, now fell across it in a long fringe. Blue eyes narrowed through her glasses.

"Now, now, Lisa-chan; as much as I wouldn't mind a sword fetish, I would hardly consider it under these circumstances." His dark eyes looked vaguely mournful as Shunsui Kyouraku melted from the shadows. "Did you honestly think I would let my dear lieutenant go without a goodbye?"

"Kyouraku-taichou." An icy glare affixed him. "This has nothing to do with you. Leave."

"I don't believe I see the point in doing so, seeing as how that's exactly what you intend to do, fukutaichou. You would leave your poor captain alone, to wonder what had happened?"

"As if it would make a difference," she muttered, aggravated. "You'll be out of my hair in a few hours, captain. I'd rather not be forced to make it permanent."

"Oh, but I happen to like your hair. And of course, being a Captain of the Gotei 13…" His eyes glimmered slightly as he raised one of his swords almost casually to point at her. "I cannot allow you to leave."

"You won't stop me."

"It's a selfish move, don't you think? After all, Nanao-chan's still in the Academy. She'll be wondering where her cousin went."

Lisa froze as the sudden flash of innocent blue eyes and pulled back black hair blazed through her mind before her eyes hardened. "Better to be on the run with a price on my head than in Soul Society with a Hollow within. I know what the Divisions give for treason, and to those associated with the condemned."

"So you would break her heart to keep her alive?"

"I think you already know my decision, Kyouraku-taichou."

With a Flash Step, she perched on the windowsill, braid whipping after her, sword still brandished in his direction. "If something happens to her, I'll do plenty more than just yank you by the short hairs, _captain._"

He sighed. "She'll be a beautiful young woman someday. It could come to pass that she would be a Lieutenant of this division…"

Her eyes lost some of their edge.

"Of course, she would be intelligent, as well." He bowed his head, pulling his straw hat down to cover his eyes. "Intelligent people often ask questions."

"Tell her nothing."

"She would never believe me, anyways." Shunsui sighed, and turned, before tossing something over his shoulder. She nearly leapt out the window before realizing that it was no bomb or contraption of the 12th Division. Lisa almost laughed.

"A hentai manga, captain?"

"You need something to remember me by, don't you?"

A pause.

The sudden rush of air behind him was the only goodbye he got. When he turned to slide the door shut, he smiled.

The erotic book was gone as well.

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Shunsui Kyouraku will admit to many foolish mistakes in his lifetime. However, there are a few – very few – that he truly regrets.

Letting Yadomaru Lisa go was not one of them.

And now, almost a hundred years later, he remembers that day very well.

He'll tell Nanao. Eventually.

For now, as the winter war starts, he thinks that perhaps he'll get to say hello to Lisa when this is all over. And give her some more of that manga.

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_Taichou – captain_

_Fukutaichou – lieutenant_

_Hentai – perverted, erotic_

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**A/N: **There are a couple references in here to Lisa's current character – she reads perverted manga in her spare time, and it was a fun line to run with. As for her hair, take a look at page two of Chapter -107; Her bangs are more ragged in the current time than they were in the past.

www(dot)onemanga(dot)com/Bleach/315(dot)2/02/

The idea of Lisa and Nanao as cousins is all from my mind, though; they just look pretty similar. Or maybe it's just Shunsui's taste in woman. I don't think Kubo-sensei's going to do something like this, but we'll just have to wait around and see. The latest arcs have completely thrown me for a loop with the characters' pasts. Hope you enjoyed it, and that I didn't butcher the characters too much.


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